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So you have been watching your little baby steadily grow, each day they amaze you with the new things that they can do, from frowning to smiling, to rolling and sitting. But when they suddenly discover the ability to move, be it by crawling or going commando across the floor, the joy may quickly turn into hazard brainstorming session. And, well, that is a good thing!

Little children learn from their mistakes, but there are some that you just want to avoid them ever making! So now is the time to think about what you need to do to child proof your home!

Latches

Children will love to open cupboards, pull on draws and peak behind closed doors. This is a great sign of their curiousity and development, so you do not want to stop all exploration. However you do want to prevent their little fingers finding anything that could be dangerous.

The items to consider as potentially hazardous to a child include:

Kitchen – Any draw with knives or sharp implements, any draw with plastic bags, any cupboard with chemicals or cleaning equipment, any cupboard with medicinal supplies.

While cooking you need to be alert. Either fit a safety door to the kitchen or ensure that you are vigilant. Turn pot handles to the back of the stove and ensure the child stays away from a hot oven.

Water

There are a number of things you can do to safe guard your child from water. The facts are that children can die in a small bucket of water, so it is good to ensure that all outdoor water features, pools or buckets are either empty or have protective fences around them. Inside ensure that the bath is always let out.

Another task to attend to is the temperature of your hot water, ensure that you have set it at an appropriate level in order to not burn or scold the child should it come out hot. See Adjusting your gas hot water heater. Also get in the habit of always turning the hot tap off first, so the cold water can cool the metal fixtures.

Finally ensure that you have a good quality mat down to reduce the chance of your child slipping.

Electricity

It goes without saying that electricity is one of the most dangerous currents pulsing through any household. Given a child’s curousity it is hard to ensure that they will never stick something inside a power point, so cover all accessible power points with a plastic cap when not in use. Also ensure that you have a safety switch fitted, this will flick your power off should it happen to short circuit, hopefully protecting the child.

Door stoppers and strips

These are often overlooked, but they are quite important. Look around your home for any door that shuts too quickly or sharply, and doors which have dangerous inside edges (that is when the door is open, does it leave a gap between door and frame where a child may place their finger). If so, address these by putting in a door stop or a strip to ensure that your child’s fingers remain safe.

Stairs

Stairs can prove fatal to a little child, so it is worth getting a gate. These are usually very easy to fit.

On the fun flip side, you may also want to protect your DVD, VIDEO, WII etc from little fingers, slices of toast and being used as a money box. In these cases your child is likely to be fine, in fact probably proud of their achievement, however you may have an expensive repair bill.